Mass Effect: Lost Hearts
by saidiecat
Summary: During ME3... During its prewar efforts, the Normandy falls upon a mysterious young woman who has no memories. She begins to spark strange feelings between Garrus and Shepard and her own feelings confuse her too. When these feelings start to intensify and she begins to exhibit strange abilities, rivalry, betrayal and passion sets the Normandy aflame... Garrus/OC/MShepard triangle.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Wow, it's been a while since I had the urge to write fanfiction and I guess I'm a little late on the Mass Effect bandwagon, but I couldn't get this story out of my head... so here it is. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter One

A Box in Space

Her eyes fluttered open lazily as her consciousness returned painfully slow. Her blurred vision began to solidify, focusing on her dark, dull grey surroundings and the only sound she could hear was her own lethargic heartbeat. Above her, she saw a low metallic roof. It was low enough that she doubted she would have been able to stand if she had the strength to. She was propped up against a hard surface, her legs were cramped in the minimal space and her neck seared as she moved her head to either side. Metallic walls encased her. She tried to move, but her body felt as if it had been thrown into a blender. Every muscle ached and moving was a chore best left for another day, but her surroundings became of more interest the further she drifted back into reality. Her heart quickened as she realized the small space she was in had no windows or doors. It was as if she was sealed in a metal tomb. Her arms struggled to reach out and touch the walls. Maybe there was a hidden door panel or something? As her arms stretched to the right, something grazed her fingers. She lifted the flat object and held it in front of her face. It was a screen of blue protected by a metal frame. She had to dig deep to remember what it was called. A datapad. On the blue screen there was a message. Her eyes strained to make out the letters.

_ Your name is Ashlyn. Stay safe. Don't trust anyone._

That was all it said. No name to give a clue who it was from, no answers and no use. All it provided was a singular, dim source of light in the tomb. A deep exhale escaped her lips as she set the datapad back down. She felt at a complete and utter loss. She was too weak to panic, too lethargic to even consider that this tomb could be the last thing she ever saw. She knew she had to figure out a way to escape the metal tomb, but for now, fatigue was still plaguing her body and she decided to drift back to sleep, hoping that when she woke, she would have the strength to claw out.

* * *

Commander Shepard's fingers danced gracefully over the holographic terminal. He paused and focused on the screen, studying the war assets he'd collected over the past few months. It seemed to be a miracle and a sign of hope. The races were gathering together full force to stop the Reapers. He had to laugh at the phenomenon that was his most recent victory: getting the quarians and the geth to cooperate. At least until the Reapers were taken care of. It was difficult, but luckily knowing and helping Legion, a single geth unit, they were able to bring peace. Unfortunately, it meant the sacrifice of Legion, but he was more than willing to commit that sacrifice for the peace between the geth and their creators. Thinking of Legion felt like an additional weight on his heart, along with Mordin and Thane. He was losing too many friends to this war. He had to stop the Reapers, no matter what.

The Reapers were massive machines that appeared to purge the galaxy of all life. No one truly knew why, but it was something he wasn't going to stand for. They started with Earth, his home. When the destruction began, Admiral Anderson gave Shepard back his ship, the Normandy, since he knew Shepard could get the better use out of it. Since leaving Earth, Commander Shepard travelled the galaxy, playing politician and space explorer to gather support and assets to help with the war against the Reapers. If they were going to fight, they needed all the help they could get.

"Commander," Joker's voice suddenly rang over the war room.

"Yes?"

"I think you should come to the bridge, there's something you might want to see." The tone in his voice had a mix of concern and curiosity.

Shepard didn't hesitate to leave the war room and head straight to the cockpit. Comm Specialist Traynor glanced at him briefly as he passed the main control hub. She knew something too, which gave him more reason to quicken his pace. He entered the cockpit and met eyes with EDI. He was surprised for just a moment, still getting used to the ship's artificial intelligence being in a robotic body. The body was human-like, with breasts even, entirely made of metal. Her face was made of a certain alloy that allowed movement. She gave a welcoming smile as she looked at Shepard from behind her orange visor.

Shepard moved his eyes onto Joker. He was facing the pilot's terminal, as usual. "What's up?" Shepard asked.

"EDI was doing some scans in this system," he began without turning around, "and we found something a little strange." His fingers moved over the holographic screens and he brought up an enlarged view of their recent scan. A small, square object was floating aimlessly within their near space.

Shepard's brow furrowed as he clasped his hands behind his back. "So? What is it?" He asked impatiently.

Joker turned the chair around to face him. Shepard rarely ever pictured Joker out of the chair and without his trademark ball cap. Joker had a bone deficiency disease, but Shepard had often teased him about it only being an excuse for Joker to sit around and fly ships all day. He did admire Joker though. He was very loyal to the Normandy and Joker was the best large craft pilot he'd ever known.

Joker's eyebrows were raised with interest as he spoke. "There's something alive in there."

Shepard's eyes went to screen, then back to Joker, then to EDI.

"There are faint signs of life within the object." She stated. "It could be some sort of pod."

Shepard tightened his jaw. He hated making tough calls. Whatever was in the thing could be a trap, or worse. On the other hand, it could be something useful or something in need of help. He wasn't the type of person to waste life if he could help it, especially with the Reaper threat, so his decision was made. "Get Cortez in the Kodiak. Have him bring it in."

"Yes Commander." Joker turned back to his terminal and began relaying the orders.

* * *

Garrus Vakarian had always enjoyed his time on the Normandy. Though he missed his home planet, Palaven, and was worried sick over his family, he'd made good friends aboard the Normandy. He'd made partners with whom he trusted with his life. Above them all was Commander Shepard, his brother in arms. Though he was human, a part of Garrus admired Shepard. He was a fierce warrior and a compassionate person. Shepard seemed to care for every species that he came across, including Garrus's, the turians. He'd already pledged his loyalty to Shepard on many occasions and followed him into countless battles without hesitation. From their battle with Saren, to Shepard's untimely death and miraculous return and even when Garrus asked Shepard to help him seek out Sidonis, the turian who betrayed him and got his entire squad killed, Shepard was there. They seemed to depend on each other and knew Shepard would gladly take a bullet for him, as he would for Shepard.

Garrus's mandibles fluttered over the sound of the door hissing open. He turned to see Shepard. "Here to chat or is something up?" Garrus asked, knowing they weren't about to start any missions.

"EDI found something when she scanned this system." He explained. "Apparently, this object has traces of life in it and EDI seems to think it might be some sort of pod. I want you down at the shuttle bay armed and ready. Once the bay is sealed up again, if things go bad, I wanted you aimed."

"You got it." Garrus replied with a nod and moved to the weapons table where his trusty sniper rifle was ready to be loaded.

* * *

Shepard told EDI and Tali, the quarian, to also meet in the shuttle bay once the airlock was closed. James Vega was usually already down there, somehow putting on _more _muscle, so Shepard asked that his guns be ready as well. EDI and Tali were their best tech experts, so they would be the two to find out what the thing was.

As Shepard tucked his pistol into its holster at his hip, he was met by Tali in the elevator.

"Going down I suppose?" She joked lightly. Her heavily accented voice was muffled and slightly altered by the helmet she wore at all times. Her people had very weak immune systems, causing their entire race to wear the helmets and exosuits. They hid most of her face and body. Her glowing eyes and the tip of her nose were sometimes visible through the faceplate. Over the helmet, she wore a beautifully embroidered hood. Quarians were similar to humans in some ways. Her lean body could've been compared to a human's, except her legs were bent like a turian's and he had three fingers on each hand and two toes on her feet. Tali was a quirky addition to his team and she was also very intelligent.

Shepard chuckled lightly at her joke as they both headed down to the shuttle bay. When the elevator doors opened once again, Garrus, EDI and James were waiting for Shepard's arrival. The airlock had closed and Lieutenant Cortez was just pulling the Kodiak in, the square object in tow. It was a quarter of the size of the Kodiak and was all metal.

They all watched in interest as the Kodiak docked and then they all followed Shepard further into the shuttle bay. Cortez stepped out of the shuttle and gave Shepard a salute.

"At ease." Shepard told the man of Hispanic descent. "Well, what is it?"

"No clue, sir." Cortez admitted honestly. "It seems to be a simple design, kind of looks like a storage compartment."

"Alright, EDI, Tali, come see what you can find." Shepard commanded.

Both of them stepped closer and began running scans over the object with their omni-tools.

"This looks as if it could've been jettisoned from a ship." EDI pointed out.

"But there are no ship markings." Tali commented as she crouched down, continuing her scanning towards the bottom.

Shepard rubbed his chin. "An unmarked ship maybe?"

EDI turned to Shepard. "That could be possible, illegal, but possible."

"I found something!" Tali exclaimed, causing a stir in every one within the shuttle bay.

Shepard crouched down next to her. "There is a very small port here." She pointed to a small panel that slid open revealing the single port. It was an unusual thing these days to still have to hardwire something.

"It seems like whoever made this didn't want just anyone cracking it open." Shepard stated. "EDI, can you jack in?"

EDI nodded and crouched down as well. Tali stood to give room. EDI pulled a wire from her wrist and plugged it into the port. Her omni-tool lit up and she fiddled with the controls.

Suddenly, a loud hiss came from the pod as it pressurized. On the top, a hatch slid open.

* * *

Garrus watched impatiently as Shepard, EDI and Tali all wracked their brains to get the pod open. It wasn't until Tali announced that she found something when Garrus placed his eye over his scope. He could see what was happening as if it was up close and personal. EDI and Tali stepped back as the hatch opened. Shepard moved some crates up against it and climbed up so he could look inside. Garrus watched intently as Shepard's eyes widened at whatever was inside. Once he knew there was no danger, he abandoned his spot and trotted towards Shepard and the pod.

* * *

Shepard didn't know what to expect when the pod opened, but he surely did not expect a young woman to be crumpled at the bottom. She was bruised and looked like a skeleton. He couldn't imagine how long she'd been in there, but EDI still detected life. She was still alive somehow.

"Get Doctor Chakwas!" He shouted and EDI lit up her omni-tool to contact the doctor.

He had to get her out of there. He looked up and spotted Garrus approaching. "Garrus, help me."

Garrus nodded, placed his rifle on his back and climbed up the crates. A small gasp escaped him and his mandibles fell slack as his eyes came upon the girl. She was human and she was near death. Her dark hair was sprawled around her head in tangles. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were sunken. She was in a black body suit, but it was loose on her, as if her body was deteriorating. He spotted bruises on her face and neck and he noted there were probably more hidden underneath her clothes.

Garrus briefly turned to Shepard. "She doesn't look good." It was more of a statement than a question since he'd been around humans long enough to know they weren't supposed to look like this.

"No, she doesn't."

They both simultaneously reached in. Shepard grabbed her ankles, Garrus grabbed her wrists. They lifted her out slowly and once she passed the threshold, Shepard demanded that Garrus take her. Garrus was taken back a bit, but he adjusted his hold on her so she was in his arms like a child. His arm hooked under her thin legs and the other arm cradled her neck. She weighed next to nothing and felt like a fragile twig against his armor. Shepard climbed down and lit up his omni-tool.

"Doctor!" He urgently called into it.

"I'm coming off the elevator now." Doctor Chakwas stated in her British accent.

Garrus hopped down the crates carefully, holding the girl tight against him. As his feet touched the floor, he looked down at her face. His breath hitched when he saw her eyes roll open. Brilliant green orbs peered up at him, exhausted and expressionless. He was about to call to Shepard, but Doctor Chakwas had arrived and the girl's eyes fell closed again.

To be continued...

**If you enjoyed, please review! Thank you! **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"_Any idea where she's from?"_

"_No, the only thing in the pod was the datapad and the message is untraceable."_

"_No other clues in the pod?"_

"_None, Commander."_

* * *

"_How is she?"_

"_She's alive. Your concern surprises me, Garrus."_

"_It's not every day you find a human in a box floating in space."_

"_True, but she has a fighting spirit. We've been injecting nutrients into her system, it seems to be strengthening her slowly. Other than her malnutrition and abrasions, she seems to be a fairly normal human."_

"_Makes me wonder who left her to die in there and why. Cortez said that he thinks the thing was a storage compartment. If it had been an escape pod she probably could've gotten help a lot quicker."_

* * *

"_Commander, good to see you. Our little pod girl is doing well. I'm sure you'll want to get her to the Citadel soon."_

"_I'd really love to question her beforehand."_

"_She might not have the strength for that. It might be another week still."_

"_If you can keep her alive until then, I'd appreciate it."_

"_I'm sure I can."_

* * *

_**Ashlyn… don't go to the Citadel alone… don't stay in the Citadel. Find somewhere safe and stay there.**_

* * *

So many voices ran through her head, swimming along with her blurred, detached thoughts. There were three new ones, but the last voice she heard before waking up was oddly familiar, but brought no faces to mind. In fact, she had no faces in her mind, not even hers. Nothing was there. Other than the metal tomb, the datapad and a few mismatched thoughts, her mind was like an empty void. The mismatched thoughts that passed through her brain were like fragments of broken glass, pieces of something that she couldn't quite gather. Among these thoughts were that familiar voice, a spaceship and a fear that she couldn't understand.

Her eyes opened as her consciousness returned only to be greeted by a strange and unnerving darkness. There was some dim light coming off of machinery that was positioned around the room, but it wasn't enough to get a good enough look around, but she made due with her limited vision. She looked down at herself. Wires were snaking out of her arm and she was tucked into a firm bed, still in her bodysuit. The room gave off the sharp smell of antiseptic. A hospital. That's where she was. She figured some common knowledge was apparently still intact in her shattered mind, making her able to know what a hospital even was or how it smelled. She sat up, realizing the room was probably too small to be a hospital. A med bay perhaps? Being in a med bay made her have a slight feeling of being at home, but she wasn't sure why. This med bay didn't even seem familiar, but it reminded her of something. It was like a memory that was floating away just out of her reach. No matter how hard she strained to remember, she just couldn't get there.

She looked to her left and saw a closed door. A dull light was cast over the top and there were letters that read: AI CORE, unsure of what that meant. She looked right and saw another closed door with no identifying, yet confusing signs. There were some empty beds around her, more medical equipment and storage, but there was no one there. As quiet and dark as it was, she realized that it was probably fairly late, igniting her sense of time. Slowly, but surely coherent thoughts were coming together to at least make her surroundings somewhat identifiable. She wanted to move to get a better idea of where she was, but she was afraid she wouldn't have the strength. She seemed much better than when she woke in the metal tomb and suddenly realized she was no longer within the small space that she feared would have been her deathbed. She must've been saved, but by who? And more importantly, could she trust them? She was thankful to be out of the tomb, but somehow she ended up in a strange med bay, in a strange ship, somewhere in space.

* * *

Garrus rarely stayed up so late. During a battle, he knew getting rest was important when you had the time to steal it, but sometimes his seemingly endless calibrations made him lose track of time. When he finally realized how late it actually was, he decided to call it a night. He closed down the terminal within the main battery and rolled his shoulders as he stepped out. Everything was quiet other than the metallic sound of his armored boots touching the floor with each step. There were probably a few late night officers on the bridge, but the majority of the Normandy was fast asleep.

In space, there is no day and night, so the crew got sleep when they could, however routine and internal scheduling seemed to cause most of the crew to sleep around the same time. And it wouldn't be very wise to head off to a mission when half the squad is asleep anyway, so it was more logical to have everyone on the same sleep pattern. They ran on Citadel time otherwise and according to that, it was about two in the morning.

Most of the human crew slept in the crew quarters, but Shepard's squadmates usually had their own rooms. They either adopted a room upon the Commander's approval, like Liara T'soni, the asari biotic, did. Or they stayed where they were most comfortable. The main battery was usually Garrus's home. He stayed close to his work and he wasn't bothered. He often found himself comforted and being lulled to sleep by the mechanical buzzing within the battery and the glow of the terminals. He planned to curl up on his cot that sat in the back corner of the main battery, but he realized first that he hadn't eaten anything in a while either. That was why he found himself walking as silently as he could down the corridor to the mess hall. It was only a short walk. He figured he could find some easy, dextro-friendly snack and then get some sleep.

When he entered the mess hall, he pulled open one of the food storage compartments. He found something that he approved of and went to turn back towards the battery. He paused when he noticed movement in the med bay windows across from him. It was dark, but his visor adjusted, allowing a bit more clarity and he saw the girl. She was sitting up in her bed. His heart quickened with a strange excitement as he put the food down and headed for the door.

As he entered, the light responded to his presence and illuminated the room. The girl turned to him, squinting her eyes against the offending light. She looked a million times better than when he'd saw her in the pod. Her hair wasn't as messy, but fell into dark waves down her back. Her eyes were still brilliant green. Her face had filled out and she wasn't nearly as pale. She was still thin, but not verge-of-death thin.

She seemed to focus on Garrus and when she realized what stood before her, her eyes grew wide with panic. Garrus noticed her body had suddenly gone rigid.

"Hey, it's okay." He began softly, his dual-toned voice was nearly a purr.

This only caused more fear since she scrambled off the bed in a flurry of long arms and legs, knocking her IV over in the process. She ducked behind the bed, her emerald orbs peeking over the top at him. Garrus was reminded of a frightened animal when he gazed at her. She was pressed against the wall between her bed and a cabinet, watching him with terrified silence.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said again even softer. She cowered further.

He then realized that he couldn't communicate with her alone. It wasn't up to him anyway. He lifted his head slightly towards the ceiling. "EDI, can you wake the Commander and Doctor Chakwas? Our little friend is awake."

* * *

"Commander Shepard," EDI's voice rang across his quarters.

He groaned as he sat up, running his hand over his tired face. "What is it, EDI?"

"Officer Vakarian asked me to inform you that the human is awake."

Shepard suddenly went on full alert. He swung his legs out of bed, jumped up and proceeded to dress. "This early?" He said. "Chakwas told me it wouldn't be for another week!"

"The doctor is also on her way to the med bay." EDI pointed out.

"Thanks, EDI." Shepard murmured as he left his cabin with urgency in his stride.

Garrus and Doctor Chakwas were already in the med bay by the time Shepard arrived. The atmosphere was tense. Chakwas was standing in the center of the room, while Garrus was pressed into the corner, keeping his distance. His arms were crossed over his chest as he watched Chakwas talk to the girl as calmly as she could.

"You _are _safe. I can promise you that."

"What's happened?" Shepard asked as he stepped in.

"She's a little spooked." Garrus stated.

Chakwas spoke without taking her eyes off the girl. "I didn't expect her to wake. It seems like the treatment worked quicker than I anticipated. She's said nothing other than she is not safe."

Shepard joined Chakwas's side and spotted the girl huddled against the wall behind the bed. She was wild-eyed and full of fear. Her lips were pulled tight and her hair draped over her like a dark, wavy cloak. "I'm not safe." She murmured. Her voice quivered.

Shepard stepped closer and met her emerald-like eyes. "You're safe. I will keep you safe. No one aboard this ship will hurt you. Do you remember your name?"

She pursed her lips and remembered the datapad within the tomb. "Ashlyn… I must stay safe. I must not trust anyone."

"She's repeating what the datapad said." Garrus said quietly.

"Do you know anything else?" Shepard asked her.

She shook her head vigorously.

Shepard stepped closer. Ashlyn cowered further, but Shepard didn't stop until he was close enough to touch her, then he crouched down to her level. "I'm Commander Shepard. This is my ship, the Normandy." He reached out his hand. "You can trust me."

Ashlyn blinked a few times, looked at his hand and back at him. Slowly and gingerly, she extended her hand until her fingertips grazed his. Then he took her hand in his and held it softly.

"See?" Shepard said with an earnest smile. "Everything's okay. Now, go on, tell me what you remember."

"I… was on a ship." She murmured. "Then I was in the metal tomb. There was a message that told me my name and that I had to stay safe. I know that is important."

"Was it an Alliance ship?" He asked.

She gazed at him, confusion crossed her visage.

"Who was the captain?"

"I don't know." She whispered and her head lowered.

Shepard put his other hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, we'll take you to the Citadel and maybe then can help access your memory."

Ashlyn suddenly tightened her grip on his hand. "No! You can't leave me at the Citadel. It's not safe. If this ship, Normandy, is safe, let me stay here, please. I will earn my keep. I don't remember much but I-I can clean or learn to cook or something. Just please, please don't leave me at the Citadel."

Shepard looked very concerned. "Why are you so afraid?"

"I-I don't know. Someone told me not to stay at the Citadel, especially alone."

"And I guess you don't remember who told you?"

Ashlyn shook her head.

Shepard sighed as he stood and faced Doctor Chakwas.

"Seems that she has some sort of memory loss." Chakwas stated. The elder woman's expression seemed confused. "Every scan I give her comes back fine."

Shepard motioned for Chakwas and Garrus to step outside of the room. They followed their commander. Once the door shut behind them, Shepard looked at each of them.

"What's your take on her? Think she's from Cerberus or what?"

"It's hard to say with that memory loss. The only thing she remembers is being on a ship." Chakwas said. "She has some knowledge, but most of her memories just aren't there. She is able to speak well and obviously understands well enough, but as of her origins, I'm not quite sure."

Garrus leaned on one hip as he put in is two cents. "It could be that unmarked ship you suggested and one thing I've learned about Cerberus is they don't care if we know who they are. I doubt they'd be running around in an unmarked ship."

"If we take her to the Citadel," Chakwas explained, tucking a grey strand of hair behind her ear, "they can do more intense scans and see if we can salvage her memory."

Shepard shook his head. "She's scared to death of the Citadel for some reason. I can't make it worse for her, at least for right now."

"Maybe we should just let her rest a few more days," Garrus suggested. "Maybe in time she'll settle down and begin to remember."

Shepard sighed. "Well, we need to head to the Citadel anyway. I'm supposed to have a meeting with the asari councilor. It will take us a few days to get there from the Far Rim, hopefully by then we'll get something out of her. In the meantime, do what you can to kick start memories. I'll also talk to Liara, maybe she can meld with her."

Garrus scoffed. "You think that's a good idea right now? Mind sex with a stranger?"

Shepard nearly smiled, but gave the turian a good stare down instead. "Mind sex? Is that what they call it now?" He shook his head. "No, I don't think it's a good idea, but I don't have many good ideas, so for now just get her talking."

Garrus and Chakwas both replied in unison. "Yes, Commander."

* * *

Questions, questions, questions. Chakwas couldn't get her fill of them. Ashlyn was beginning to like the older woman, but she was a bit demanding and persistent. She had short greying hair and green eyes, but she was relentless with questions. The first day was a barrage of who's, what's, where's and why's. Ashlyn could only respond by the three words she seemed to be repeating quite a lot in the past few hours, "I don't know."

Chakwas also kept scanning her. Ashlyn didn't know why, but the doctor seemed to be getting aggravated when they came back clear.

After her last parade of questions, Chakwas left the med bay feeling as if she'd spoken to a brick wall for the past hour. As she stepped through the threshold, she nearly ran into a tall figure. She looked up at Garrus.

"I wouldn't bother." She stated bluntly. "I've been talking with her for an hour and I've gotten nothing."

"Talking or prodding?" He asked in a teasing tone.

"You have a go then." She said with a wave of her hand and moved past him.

Garrus figured that Chakwas's methods were straightforward and blunt as she was. He had a better idea. He decided he'd get to know Ashlyn a bit, hopefully meeting someone new and making a friend, rather than feeling like a patient, would trigger something. He stepped through the door and as soon as Ashlyn's eyes fell upon him, her body went rigid again.

"It's okay, I just wanted to introduce myself since I didn't get the chance to before. I helped pull you out of the pod." He said, keeping his distance.

She paled and the shock on her face was apparent. "What _are _you?" She asked, her voice quivering.

"You've never seen a turian?" His brow plates rose.

Ashlyn shook her head, her dark hair flailing around her.

"Have you seen any other species other than humans?"

She shook her head again.

Garrus crossed his arms, finding it hard to believe in this day and age. "You've lived on a ship without encountering any other species?"

She shrugged. "I don't know." Her head lowered as if she seemed ashamed.

"Well, that's not important." He said taking a step closer. "I know it must be a bit of a shock then, but my name is Garrus Vakarian. I am a turian."

She looked back up at him, her shock was fading and she now seemed more interested rather than afraid. "You helped me out of the tomb?"

Garrus nodded. "Sure did."

"Are there any other aliens aboard?"

Garrus chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck absently. "Uh, yes, actually. You'll meet them all soon, but they're all very nice. There's Tali, she's a quarian, Liara is an asari, EDI is not an alien, but she's an artificial intelligence."

"EDI," Ashlyn cocked her head. "The doctor told me that was the name of the ship's computer."

"I am actually an artificial intelligence as Garrus has stated." EDI's bodiless voice entered the room and startled Ashlyn. "I'm sure you will meet my physical platform soon."

Ashlyn didn't respond, just took a deep breath and looked back at the floor, her dark lashes shadowing her cheeks.

Garrus took a few more steps. "Hey, I know this is a dumb question, but are you… okay?" He didn't know how to comfort a human, especially a female human with little to no memory, but he was oddly willing to try.

She met his eyes, noticing for the first time that they were a soft, calming blue. She realized he was now standing at the end of her bed, but she was no longer afraid. The way he showed concern seemed very close to home and it was comforting. Though she'd never seen anything like Garrus, she found herself opening up, wanting to know more about him. She studied his face. Since she'd never seen a turian, as he called himself, she wasn't sure of his expression. The plates over his eyes were raised slightly. The mandibles on either side of his jaw were tight against it. Was it an expression of genuine concern? She liked to think so.

"I just feel… lost." She said with a sigh. "I don't want to be a burden on Commander Shepard by asking him to stay on his ship, but I don't want to go anywhere else."

"The Commander cares… a lot. We'll just have to find some way you can help out on the ship and he won't have a reason to make you go, not that he would anyway. The only reason he'd leave you somewhere is to keep you safe. There's a lot of danger in the universe right now and the Normandy is right in the middle of it all."

His voice was low and seemed haunted, but the more Ashlyn listened, the more she was beginning to like the sound. She stayed silent for a few moments, looking into Garrus's alien face. She noticed the blue markings that ran across his small, flattened nose, cheeks and mandibles. She also took note of the spikes that emerged from the front of his head, just behind the crest, and reached back a few inches beyond his head. She also saw the scars on the right side of his face. It caused a lump to form in her throat. He must've gone through something horrific to receive such scars. His holographic visor sat perfectly over his left eye, giving a slight blue glow against his grey face plates. His armor was impressive. It had a wide neck that was raised in the back, a small waist and was complimented with blue and silver. His body must've been very different from a human's to wear such strange armor, but it made her even more curious. A peculiar request crept into her thoughts and she wasn't sure if she would offend Garrus if she asked, but he did say he would not harm her, so why not?

"Um… Garrus?"

He cocked his head, enjoying the fact she was becoming comfortable enough to say his name. "Hmm?"

"Can I, uh…" She didn't know how to ask, but she already had her hand extended. It was a strange request and she wasn't sure how to word it. Maybe it was to confirm that he was real, or maybe it was just pure curiosity? She couldn't find the words. How do you ask an alien if you can touch them?

Seeing her reaching hand and realizing what she was asking, Garrus leaned forward without saying a word. He felt her fingertips softly graze his crest and he felt a shiver down his spine. He kept his eyes on hers as they traced the path her touch was making. Her fingers moved down to his right brow plate, running along the length of it. Then she moved down his cheek to his mandible. His breath hitched as her touch ran across his scars and something stirred in him. It was a warm feeling and it made him feel somehow connected to her.

Ashlyn felt excitement being able to touch an alien for the first time. His plates weren't cold solid metal like they seemed, they were warm, smooth and not entirely hard as she expected. When her fingers ran over the rough old wound that marred his face, she felt a pang of sadness for him. She felt as if she wanted to bring him into her arms and hold him, but he was an alien and she wasn't sure what that meant for her.

* * *

Shepard was in a decent mood as he rode the elevator down to the crew deck, decent enough for a war going on around him. The Normandy was headed to the Citadel to speak with the asari councilor and to return some artifacts they'd picked up, and he was hoping to gain some support from it. While on their journey, he figured it would be a perfect time to settle the newest addition in and possibly get some of her memory back in the meantime.

He made his way off the elevator and to the med bay. The doors hissed open and he saw something that surprised him. Garrus was leaned over Ashlyn's bed as Ashlyn seemed to be stroking his face. It was only a brief second he'd seen this since Garrus jumped back when the doors opened. Shepard looked at either of them with narrowed eyes.

"What's going on?" He asked, feeling almost angry, but not sure why.

Garrus opened his mouth to explain, but Ashlyn spoke up first. "I was just curious. I've never seen an alien before."

"Really? I wonder if that's true or if you just don't remember?"

Ashlyn shrugged her small shoulders. "I'm not sure."

Shepard moved his eyes to Garrus and spoke in a more commanding tone. "Head to the shuttle bay, introductions are in order."

Garrus nodded and took a swift stride out of the med bay.

"Introductions?" Ashlyn asked.

"Yes, it's time you met the rest of the crew. It's best that you get to know them now so you aren't startled by anyone else and they all can't fit in the med bay. Are you able to get up on your own?"

"I think so." She replied.

She removed the blanket from her legs and dangled them over the edge. She noticed she was still wearing her bodysuit. It was a little fuller now that she'd gained a bit of weight back.

Shepard stepped closer as she slid off the edge of the bed.

As Ashlyn's feet touched the ground, the weight on her legs caused them to tremble. Before she knew it she stumbled forward. Shepard was there, in a blink, catching her before her face hit the floor. Ashlyn felt his strong arms surround her and she looked up with surprise. Her eyes locked with his slate grey ones. His chiseled face seemed as surprised as hers. She took a brief moment to take him in. The hard, determined eyes, the dark hair kept trimmed close to his scalp, the fading scar on his cheek. She put one hand on his chest and the other on his forearm to steady herself. His body was firm and she swore she could feel his heart pounding beneath the form-fitting black T-shirt he wore.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice low and filled with concern.

Ashlyn nodded and straightened herself. Her legs were steady enough, but Shepard made sure to stand in catching distance as she began to walk towards the door.

"I feel okay now." She told him with a thankful smile.

He remained close as they continued towards the elevator. Ashlyn's mind was swimming. She wasn't quite sure if she was ready to do this, but if it meant staying on the Normandy she was willing. Garrus and Shepard were already stirring some strange emotions and now she was going to meet even more people. In her mind she groaned, wishing she could at least remember how to be less of an awkward burden.

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Sorry for the delay in updating, Final Fantasy 14 latched its addictive claws into me... Hope you all enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter Three

"We don't normally do introductions this way, but since you've been traumatized and lost your memory, we were hoping that everyone gathering like this would be a little less stressful." Shepard went on to say as the two of them entered the elevator. Garrus had already made his way down. "Just know that everyone here is a friend and they are here to offer support. I know we are all strangers, but rest assured we are willing to help those who need it."

"That is a wonderful thought." Ashlyn replied with a smile.

The elevator stopped on the shuttle bay and the doors opened. Ashlyn was greeted by many faces. Most were human. A few were not. She immediately recognized Garrus, whose mandibles were flared into a smile.

"Alright everyone, this is Ashlyn. She's kind of lost right now so we are going to help her anyway we can. Understood?" Shepard announced to the crew.

Everyone stated their agreements.

Shepard then led Ashlyn down the line of the Normandy crew. "You already know Garrus and Doctor Chakwas so I won't waste an introduction."

"Waste? Shepard, I'm hurt." Garrus feigned an injured tone.

Ashlyn smiled as Shepard rolled his eyes at the turian. He moved on and Ashlyn was shocked to see a woman made entirely of metal. "This is EDI, who you already know through voice. This is her physical body."

"It's a pleasure to meet you again." EDI greeted with a slight bow of her head.

Ashlyn was comforted by the familiar voice, returned the nod and moved down the line to a blue-skinned woman with tendrils instead of hair. Ashlyn tried to hide her fear. Shepard did tell her that no one would harm her on the Normandy and so far everyone was quite nice, so she just had to gulp down the lump in her throat and try to smile.

"This is Liara, she is an asari and a biotic."

"Biotic?" Ashlyn asked.

"Goddess," Liara said in her wispy voice, "she really is missing a lot of information. A biotic is a person who can control energy to lift objects, protect others or even attack enemies."

"Like… magic?" Ashlyn was still confused.

Liara smiled with a hint of sympathy in her expression. "Sure, if you want to see it that way."

Ashlyn wasn't too sure if she was comfortable with Liara's level of pity, but she obviously didn't mean harm. She continued to follow Shepard to the next person in line; a human man with a beard and a baseball cap.

He didn't wait for an introduction. "Name's Jeff, but everyone calls me Joker. I'm the pilot around here and I hope you like being around awesome people, if so, head on up to the cockpit anytime."

Ashlyn chuckled. She automatically liked Joker for being able to get a laugh out of her. "Thanks." She replied.

Next person in line was another alien. She wore a mask and was covered completely in a suit.

"This is Tali, she's a quarian."

"Nice to meet you Ashlyn," Tali greeted in a thick, yet muffled accent.

"Nice to meet you too."

Ashlyn continued to meet the rest of the crew. Major Kaiden Alenko, a reserved human man and also a biotic, Lieutenant James Vega, an energetic, flirtatious muscle man, Samantha Traynor, the communication specialist, Engineer Adams and Lieutenant Steve Cortez, shuttle pilot and armor chief. There were many others and Ashlyn was beginning to lose count, but she held a smile throughout.

Once they were at the end of the line, Shepard commanded that everyone return to work and with a flurry of footsteps, they did. Ashlyn watched in interest as each person knew exactly where they belonged and headed there, no questions asked. She pined for that same feeling of knowing where she belonged, but knew it was currently impossible.

Shepard turned to her as the shuttle bay cleared out. "I let everyone know that they can talk to you if you want. The more you talk, the more you might remember so feel free to make friends while you're aboard, okay?"

"Okay," she paused as she wrung her fingers, "thank you for this Commander Shepard. I simply cannot express my gratitude."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a dashing smile. "Don't worry about it. Times like this, every person is important, even those who can't remember who they are."

After her tiresome introductions, Ashlyn headed back to the med bay and met with Doctor Chakwas. The Doctor gave her some juice and something called 'nutrient paste' to eat. Ashlyn gulped down the juice, but the paste was a different story. It was bland and had the consistency of glue, but it was supposed to be good for her, so she followed the good doctor's orders and forced it down.

Chakwas had left the med bay to get food herself and Ashlyn was ready to enjoy some alone time, but I was short lived when she heard the med bay doors open in a matter of moments after the doctor left. She turned to see Garrus.

"So introductions weren't so bad right?" He said as the door closed behind him.

"Still pretty shocked about being on a ship with aliens." She stated after taking a final sip of her juice.

"Well, wherever you come from, it can't be too far off from space civilization. You have a translator after all and an omni-tool." He continued as he moved closer to her bed.

"Wait, I have what?"

"A translator, it's an implant they put in your ear. You wouldn't be able to understand me otherwise. And I can see the sensor of your omni-tool." He pointed to her left wrist and then lifted his own left hand. It suddenly lit up with an orange glow and a holographic terminal appeared on his wrist.

"I have one of those?" She asked, lifting her left arm, inspecting it.

"Looks like it." He stepped to the side of her bed and placed his finger on the upper side of her wrist, just at the edge of her sleeve. A small designed was tattooed on her wrist. It was smaller than her pinky nail and in the shape of a square. "This is a sensor," Garrus explained, "they embed it into your skin and you can do just about anything. Browse the extranet, send messages and even use the energy it gives off as a weapon. You use your will to activate it, just use your mind."

Her eyes closed slightly as she imagined the omni-tool opening just like Garrus's. It an instant an orange holographic screen appeared over her wrist. "Wow," Ashlyn muttered.

"Here, let me link up mine to yours so you can send me a message if you ever need me."

Ashlyn smiled at the gesture of friendship Garrus showed. He held up his omni-tool to hers and his fingers moved over the terminal.

"Hmm," he said with interest, "it's not letting me. That's strange. Let's try on yours."

He leaned closer to her and Ashlyn could smell him. He smelled of his own distinctive musk blended with gunmetal. It was peculiar, but it was pleasant.

He instructed her on how to link their omni-tools and it seemed to work. Garrus's name appeared on the screen under her contact list. He was the only one.

"If you want, you can browse the extranet and maybe find some information that might help you remember. Or maybe you can learn about the alien species so you'll be more comfortable around us?" He suggested as he showed her how to search the extranet.

"This is pretty neat. I can't believe I didn't know I had this." She said, sounding helpless.

Garrus stepped back. "Well, I'll give you some time to play with it. But hey, don't beat yourself up if you can't remember. Whatever happened to you was probably just an accident. I'm sure Shepard will help you in any way he can." He moved past the bed to head towards the door. Before going out, he paused and turned back. "I'll help you too."

Ashlyn gave him a thankful smile as he left, then immediately went back onto her omni-tool. She followed Garrus's suggestion and tried to find something about herself, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough to go with. She tried her name, but it just brought up other people named Ashlyn, none of them were her. Then she tried searching the Citadel. She was frightened of it, but had no clue what it was. She was surprised at her findings; a massive ancient city in space, a neutral zone and home to billions of aliens and humans. It was filled with shops, nightlife, government and homes. Why was she supposed to avoid it? It didn't seem bad at all.

Her searching moved on to the known alien species of the galaxy. She read about Garrus's race, the turians. They were militaristic, stoic, plated bird-like creatures. Liara's race, the asari, were skilled in mind power, intelligence and could mate with any other species. Tali's race, the quarians had lost their home world in a battle against their own creations. There were also krogan, salarians, volus, batarians, so many more that her mind felt like I was about to explode.

Ashlyn wanted to learn more, but she was almost thankful that Doctor Chakwas entered the med bay and interrupted her.

"Hello, Doctor." She greeted.

Chakwas gave her a strange expression. "You activated your omni-tool?"

Ashlyn nodded. "Garrus showed me how."

"Hmm, I wasn't sure it was working correctly in the state you were in, but I guess it's a good thing. Have you found anything of interest?"

"No," Ashlyn replied solemnly, "just learning about aliens and the Citadel really."

"Well, you never know where you'll find the key to your memories, but for now I'd like to do a physical, make sure you don't have any more wounds on you." Doctor Chakwas told her.

Ashlyn immediately felt uneasy. "Um, sure, if it's for my health."

Chakwas pressed some buttons on her terminal and all at once metal shutters came down to cover the windows. "The door is locked and no one can peek in. Please, remove your bodysuit."

Ashlyn nodded nervously as she slipped out of the bed and pulled down the zipper of her suit. As it fell to her ankles, she looked down to see that she was in her undergarments. She also noticed the small bruises that riddled her body.

Chakwas moved closer and began moving her omni-tool over the front of Ashlyn's body, scanning every inch of her.

"Any pain?" The doctor asked.

"No," Ashlyn replied.

"The bruises seem to be healing at an excellent rate. You had a few scrapes, but most of those have scabbed over. Could you turn around?"

Ashlyn obeyed and heard a sharp inhale come from the doctor.

"Oh my," Chakwas whispered.

"What is it?" Ashlyn began to get worried.

"You have… a scar on your back. A large one. It looks like a surgical scar."

Ashlyn blanched. How could she not know she had a large scar on her back? "Let me see." She insisted.

Chakwas silently took a mirror from her desk draw and held it to Ashlyn's back as the young girl strained her neck to look in it. The scar was long and neat. It began at the base of her neck to her lower back. There was also a horizontal scar going between her shoulder blades. The scar was a slightly puffed cross that took over her back. It looked very well healed, but it still caused a tear to emerge from Ashlyn's eye.

"Looks like it was healed with medigel." Chakwas ran her finger along the scar and Ashlyn shivered and was struck with a sudden urge to vomit. "But it also seems that you were cut open more than once."

"W-what does that mean?" Ashlyn asked quietly.

Chakwas sighed. "I don't know. It's difficult to tell the age of this scar. It could've happened when you were a child or even less than a year ago. Medigel accelerates the healing process."

Ashlyn felt another tear fall.

"I know it's stressful, my dear. How about you get dressed and we'll talk with Shepard about finding you more suitable quarters." Chakwas patted her shoulder softly and turned back to her terminal as Ashlyn slipped her bodysuit back on.

* * *

"Shepard," Liara sighed with a slow blink of her crystal blue eyes, "if she's even the slightest risk, why keep her aboard?"

"Please, Liara, I don't need you doubting every decision I make. She was in trouble." Shepard leaned against the frame of her office's door as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I know you enjoy rescuing damsels in distress, but her symptoms are puzzling. Chakwas sent me her scan results, something's not right."

Shepard shifted his weight. "Why didn't Karin come to me if she thought something was up?"

The asari turned to her terminal and her fingers flew over the controls. "The thing is, Chakwas figured everything was normal, she even thought it was strange that I would ask for them, but what I saw was a little _too _normal."

"How can someone be _too _normal?" He asked, mimicking her emphasis.

"Usually a med scan will bring up something, anything, but in Ashlyn's case, she was perfectly healthy." She brought up the screen which held the doctor's results.

Shepard glanced at them. "And that's bad?"

"It is when she's been malnourished, thrown around the inside of a box in space and has significant memory loss. I think Karin was being too confident in her treatments, but I just think it seems strange that these scans have come up empty handed."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"I won't ask you to throw her off the Normandy, Shepard, just be wary." Liara replied with a playful smile.

"I know the risks of allowing her onboard, but thank you for your concern." He straightened himself and cleared his throat softly. "Have you thought about melding with her to try and dig out those memories?"

Liara's hands rested on her hips. "I don't meld with just anyone Shepard, besides, it could be a danger to her mind if I did. These things need to happen naturally. If I force them out, it could make her lose her grip on reality. She won't know the difference between memory and the present."

Shepard grimaced. "That's happened before?"

She shrugged. "Not to anyone I've been with, but I've heard about things like that."

"Alright," he sighed, "thanks for the input Liara."

"Anytime, Shepard."

* * *

Ashlyn's heart was doing somersaults as she followed Shepard to her new living quarters. She could barely contain her excitement and her overwhelming feeling of acceptance. She wondered if this meant a more permanent home on the Normandy and the thought made her giddy. Though the aliens onboard were still surprising, she was beginning to like them, especially Garrus. They all seemed so nice and she was eager to get to know them all.

The room Shepard led her too wasn't too far from the med bay. It was just around the corner actually. The doors slid open as they approached it.

"I hope these quarters are suitable."

Ashlyn gazed into the room admirably. She could see the stars out of the window and it was extremely soothing. She continued to inspect the room, seeing a small cot in the corner and a small, sleek couch that was positioned in front of the window. "It's perfect." She breathed. She turned back to Shepard and threw her arms around his neck. "I can't thank you enough."

Shepard was caught off guard by her gesture of appreciation. It took him a moment, but he finally returned the hug, feeling a flutter in his chest. "No need to thank me. I asked EDI to come by and help you find something to keep you busy."

She separated and smiled at him. "I'll do anything Commander!" She replied with enthusiasm.

He chuckled. "Just call me Shepard."

"Alright, Shepard."

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Go ahead and get yourself settled," is what Shepard said to her before he left.

_What is there to settle? _Ashlyn thought as she sat on the edge of her bed staring into the cold metallic floor as her dark mane draped over her like a cloak. She had come to realize that she had no possessions. She didn't even have clothes, other than the suit and boots she wore. She didn't even have money to buy clothes. That feeling of helplessness that had been nagging at her was now pressing down on her like a ton of bricks. She hated feeling this way. Like she had no purpose, like she had to be taken care of because she wasn't able to do anything on her own. Shepard had mentioned that she was going to be doing _something _on the ship, but she had no clue what or if she was going to get paid for it. She doubted getting a paycheck since she wasn't actually supposed to be on the Normandy. For all she knew, Shepard could be in some sort of danger zone with her aboard, but she didn't want to leave. She was already making friends and though she felt like a lost puppy, she felt a sense of hominess aboard the Normandy. Maybe it was a reflection of a detached memory; the memory of _her _ship?

Ashlyn nearly jumped out of her skin as well as her depressing thoughts when there was a knock on the door.

"C-come in!"

The door hissed open and a silvery body stood in the doorway. EDI strolled in wearing a welcoming smile on her metallic face. Ashlyn took a moment to marvel over the robotic body. It moved just like a human, more fluid and graceful than Ashlyn imagined herself, and was an amazing piece of machinery.

"Hello again, Ashlyn," EDI greeted, "I hope you are ready to be my assistant."

"Assistant?" Ashlyn asked, slightly confused. She figured she was going to be cleaning some floors or cooking soup, not becoming an AI's sidekick.

"Yes, I could use some help in certain areas of the ship. I can tell you have some computer knowledge hidden in that mind of yours, so I'm sure you'll do fine."

Ashlyn was surprised, but she stood and followed EDI anyway. They walked around the corner, through the med bay where they said hello to Doctor Chakwas, and continued through the AI Core's door. Ashlyn was suddenly surrounded by machinery, technology and the whirs and beeps of computers.

"A few of our crew members have been complaining about the air quality in the crew quarters." EDI explained. "I need you to run a diagnostic on the life support systems and see if you can find anything."

"Uh," Ashlyn tried her best not to sound rude, "can't you do that a lot quicker?"

"Yes, but, I'm here to teach you and help you unlock your skills." EDI gestured to the terminal near the back of the room. "Just use your scanning application on your omni-tool, scan the life support system and see if anything strange appears."

Ashlyn slowly approached the terminal and held her left wrist out. Her omni-tool sprung to life and it automatically sensed her intention, so it brought up a message asking her if she wanted to scan a system in the Normandy. It then brought up a list of systems. There was a lot. Fuel systems, engine systems, auto-piloting systems and even waste disposal systems, but she eventually found the one she was looking for. She selected the life support system and her omni-tool wirelessly connected to the Normandy's computer and performed the scan.

She glanced at EDI, who was smiling at her as she watched. Only after a few seconds, the scan produced a result.

"There!" Ashlyn exclaimed almost a little _too_ excitedly. "There seems to be a leak in the crew quarters vent shaft."

"See?" EDI told her. "That wasn't so difficult. Now I need you to grab some tools, climb up into that shaft and get it sealed."

Ashlyn stared at her, dumbfounded.

"That was a joke." EDI replied with a sly smirk on her silver lips.

* * *

When Ashlyn returned to her room, she was ecstatic. She was filled with pride in herself. She felt like a child that's read their first word or took their first step. She accomplished something she never thought possible, at least in her current state of mind. EDI had relayed the message to maintenance staff and thanked Ashlyn for a job well done. Though it was a small job, Ashlyn was still proud.

Suddenly, a chiming sound went off, startling her. She quickly realized it was her omni-tool. She activated it and saw a message.

_Garrus V.: Hey, neighbor! Enjoying your new quarters?_

Her lips instantly spread into a smile as she began to type a reply.

_Ashlyn: It's wonderful. I guess you are nearby since you called me neighbor?_

_ Garrus V.: Yeah, just around the corner, past the med bay. I stay in the main battery._

_ Ashlyn: Well, that'll make it easier to visit! I worked with EDI today… I did pretty well._

Ashlyn paused as she sent the last message. She felt like she was a child telling her parents she got good grades. Garrus probably wouldn't care about that. He was a war-hardened alien, but for some reason she found herself wanting his praise. Then she realized she was blushing of embarrassment over a message and felt even more foolish. Her omni-tool chimed again, pulling her from her thoughts and she smiled again, somehow an even bigger smile than before.

_Garrus V.: Great! Glad to see you're not letting the memory loss get you down. And I would look forward to any visits from you…_

* * *

Garrus stared at his message, not believing that he'd just sent it.

"Did I really just flirt with her?" He murmured to himself, still not believing his own actions.

He ran a gloved hand across his plated face and groaned as he put away his omni-tool. He couldn't even remember what was going through his mind when he typed it. It just happened. But the strange thing was that it wasn't just a flirt, it was the truth. He was looking forward to seeing her. Maybe it was because he'd helped pull her out of the box, but he was feeling oddly protective of her. As if it was up to him to look after her, make sure she was okay and comfortable. Turians had a long history of being protective. They would protect family, friends, lovers even pets, but what was Ashlyn to him? He didn't even know her, yet he could imagine himself fighting for her. Then again, he could imagine himself fighting for everyone that was aboard the Normandy, fighting for their race's survival, but why did thinking about Ashlyn in this way feel so _different?_

* * *

Shepard moved down the corridor to the cockpit with a sense of command in his step. As the doors opened, his eyes moved past Joker and onto EDI, who was seated next to the pilot.

"EDI," he said in his best 'commander' tone, "did you let Ashlyn access the Normandy's systems?"

She stood, her metallic body reflecting the lights of the pilot terminal. Joker stayed silent. "Yes, I did. I gave her the one time access and monitored her."

"I asked you to give her a job to keep her busy, not turn her into a hacker. As nice as she is, we still don't know much about her. She could've brought down the ship."

EDI's expression did not falter. Her silver lips were curved ever so slightly into a smile. "I knew the goal of her taking on a job was to help reignite her memories. I could tell that she has computer experience, so I chose a simple job that would be best suited to her abilities."

"How did you know she has computer experience?" Shepard questioned.

"It was more of a hunch. I used the air support job as a test and she passed."

"So because she did well _hacking _into my ship's systems, you figured she was good at computers?"

EDI cocked her head slightly. "She didn't hack, I allowed her. Please do not worry Shepard. I was monitoring her actions the entire time. "

Shepard groaned as he shook his head. "Just please run any decisions like that by me before you let strangers into the Normandy's systems."

"Yes Commander."

* * *

Ashlyn leaned back onto her cot and sighed. The past day had been a busy one. She'd met the entire crew, performed ship diagnostics and made new friends. Not too shabby for a girl who couldn't remember who she was. Unfortunately she was also exhausted. She was just about to close her eyes to sleep when she heard a rapping on the door.

She sat up. "Come in," she called.

The door opened to reveal Shepard on the other side. He strode in and the door shut behind him.

His eyes met hers with a gentle concern. "How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

"Good," she replied, "just tired."

"Well, I won't keep you awake for too long. I just wanted you to know that we'll be at the Citadel in about twenty four hours. You don't have to leave the ship if you don't want to."

She gulped impulsively. "I'm not sure if I do or not."

"Well nobody will force you. I'll be heading there right after we dock, so let me know beforehand if you'd like to go. And don't worry, we won't leave you there."

Ashlyn nodded, then suddenly realized something. "Oh! I can always message you. I got my omni-tool working."

Shepard smiled. "That's great." He moved closer, activated his omni-tool in unison with Ashlyn and attempted to share his contact information. "What?" He murmured absently as his brow furrowed and his eyes peered into his holographic screen. "It's not letting me connect to yours."

"Oh, I have to add you. I don't know, it's weird. Garrus couldn't add me either, I had to add him."

He met her eyes briefly. "You've been talking to Garrus?"

She felt an unexplained shyness all of the sudden. "Just a bit. He helped me activate it." She continued to connect to Shepard's omni-tool, ignoring the awkwardness that had drifted between them, until he appeared on her contact list. "There we go."

"Alright, now you can get ahold of me." He stepped back. "Oh, and thanks for the good job on the diagnostics." He added before turning around.

"Thanks," she replied with a grin.

She watched Shepard leave, then continued to ponder whether or not she should go to the Citadel. She read that there were tons of shops and she would love to buy herself some new clothes, maybe even a toothbrush, but then she kept remembering she didn't have any money.

Her thoughts moved onto Shepard. She was so happy that she got a verbal seal of approval from the commander. It seemed a bit restrained, but she wasn't making any complaints. It was a compliment and it was from Shepard. It made her feel even more accomplished having impressed Shepard.

Suddenly, Ashlyn realized that her face seemed warmer than usual. Was she blushing again? It felt the same as when she absently sought approval from Garrus. She figured it was only normal. Shepard was the commander and Garrus was her first alien friend, she should feel a need to impress them. _Shouldn't I? _She asked herself.

She let out a wide yawn and realized that with such an empty mind, it seemed to wander a lot more. She decided to block out any wandering thoughts and rest. She fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. She could at least get some sleep for now.

To be continued...

Author's note: I know it's short, but I hope you guys enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

I've been a busy busy bee, but I've been trying to write when I can. Enjoy this new chapter, here's where it starts to get good. :)

* * *

Chapter Five

Ashlyn stared in awe at the massive station that was the Citadel. From her window, she watched it grow larger and larger the closer they got. It had giant blade-like appendages that came together to form a cylindrical shape with a ring at the very end. It was like the pictures she'd seen on the extranet, only much, much larger. Eventually, the Citadel came close enough to make out some buildings and the Normandy glided towards the docking bays. She felt the ship shudder slightly as it docked and she felt the sudden urge to explore the incredible place, but what was the point? She had no money and she couldn't become a beggar. So she made the decision to stay on the Normandy.

No sooner than the thought crossed her mind, her omni-tool chimed. It was Shepard.

_ Shepard: I'm heading out. You sure you don't want to come along?_

She sighed. Of course she wanted to, but what was she supposed to say? _Can I borrow some cash to buy some undies? _Just the thought of it humiliated her. She would figure something out regarding clothes, maybe look into some hand-me-downs from fellow shipmates.

_Ashlyn: No thanks, I'll be fine._

_ Shepard: Okay, well, just let me know if you change your mind._

She sighed again as she shut down her omni-tool. She was nearly ready to just lay back and take a nap, though she'd been sleeping most of the day, when there was a knock at her door.

* * *

Garrus was hesitant when he decided to check on Ashlyn. She'd been resting for a while and he didn't want to disturb her, but he was curious to know if she was willing to venture out onto the Citadel knowing how fearful she was of it when she was first found. When he turned the corner past the med bay, he realized her door was open and he could hear familiar voices within. He wasn't usually one to eavesdrop, but he found himself against the doorway, listening intently.

* * *

"Are you planning on exploring the Citadel?" EDI asked her.

Ashlyn's eyes lowered. She didn't want to admit it to anyone, but she felt she could open up to EDI and she wouldn't judge her. "I would like to see it, but I can't go alone. I wanted to get myself some clothes too, but I don't have any money."

"I can ask Commander Shepard to give you money from the Normandy's account?" The AI suggested.

"I can't do that. You guys are at war. You need all the money you can get." She leaned up against the window and looked up at the Citadel. "I'll just stay here."

"If that is your wish." EDI gave her a brief smile and turned to leave.

As the doors closed behind her, EDI turned to Garrus as if she expected him to be there. She nodded slightly in his direction and continued to join Joker who was waiting for her in the docking bay lobby. Garrus didn't respond, but was slightly confused at her reaction to his presence.

Ashlyn _did_ want to go to the Citadel. It scared her, since the voice kept going through her head telling her not to, but she'd read such wonderful things. She wanted to see the menagerie of aliens, the exotic stores and try different foods, but she couldn't. She sighed as she gazed longingly at the docking bay out of the window.

She nearly jumped out of her skin with the door opened once more. She expected EDI again, but she was surprised to see Garrus.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, her brow furrowed with slight concern.

"Taking you to the Citadel," he replied as he gestured for her to get up and follow with a wave of his three fingered hand. "You said you couldn't go alone, so you can come with me. I've got some things to do, but you can tag along."

A nervous smile crept onto her lips as she slowly stood.

"Come on," he coaxed, "I won't let anything bad happen to you. You have no reason to be afraid."

And with that, she eagerly left with Garrus to make her first trip to the Citadel.

When the doors to the docking bay opened up to the lobby, Ashlyn's spine straightened. She felt as if an invisible force was pulling her further in, but her mind was holding her back. Garrus went over the threshold and looked back at her questioningly. She continuously had to tell herself it was just a space station. She gulped down the lump in her throat as her right foot slid slowly through the docking bay doorway, followed by her left. Suddenly, as soon as both feet crossed the threshold, she felt a shock surge through her entire body. She shuddered slightly and felt a stab of pain in her head. She cringed and Garrus was suddenly up close, grabbing onto her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" He asked with urgency in his dual-toned voice.

Ashlyn nodded as the pain started to fade. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said softly, "just all the excitement I guess." She looked up at him, completely bathed in his shadow, and his blue eyes were bearing into her. He was genuinely worried. It made her smile. "I'm fine." She assured him.

"Alright, well, just let me know if you need to go back to the ship." He let go of her and began to lead her through the docking bay lobby.

Ashlyn quickly realized that there were aliens... _a lot_ of aliens. There were some she hadn't seen in person yet. She recognized salarians from her research. She also recognized a krogan, but then there were some she did not recognize. Tall, pink, blobs of jelly that walked on thin little legs, four-eyed, smooshed faced warriors, even large crab like creatures that just tiptoed around without notice. She did recognize some asari and a lot of turians. Most of them acted as security officials, standing guard and patrolling the hall. She began to see the difference in them compared to Garrus. They had different colors on their faces, some had different designs on their fringe, some of their mandibles were different lengths. It was a bit overwhelming to take it all in, but luckily, Garrus's voice brought her back down.

"Are you okay?" He asked, obviously still worried.

She nodded and they continued to the elevator.

Once inside, Garrus told her that he was taking her to the Prisidium Commons first.

"Okay," she replied in agreement, though she had no clue what the Prisidium Commons were.

When the elevator doors opened once more and announced their arrival with a robotic voice, Ashlyn's eyes lit up in a matter of seconds. "Oh, WOW!"

Her voice was so loud even Garrus stepped back in surprise.

"It's a _TREE!" _She leapt out of the elevator and bounded into the small patch of floral decoration that was positioned between the stairs to the bank.

Garrus glanced around. She was beginning to attract attention in the form of peculiar stares and snickering. As he walked up to her, he saw her stroking the small tree's trunk.

"What _are _you doing?" He asked harshly, hissing through his clenched teeth and mandibles.

She turned back to him, her pink lips were peeled back showing a line of white human teeth, smiling gleefully. Though her current behavior was strange, Garrus admitted to himself that he loved seeing that smile on her.

"It's a tree." She repeated with a little less energy than before.

"Yes... yes it is." He replied with a hint of irritation as he rested his hands on his hip spurs.

"I've only ever seen pictures of them. I always thought they were beautiful in the pictures, but seeing one in person is amazing!" She laughed as she ran her hands through the leaves.

Garrus dragged his hand over his face. "You've never seen a tree before or is that just a lost memory?"

"No, I know I've never seen a tree before. I remember seeing pictures on my datapad." She froze at the same exact time Garrus did and they exchanged shocked glances. "I remember…"

Garrus's eyes widened. "What else do you remember?"

Her shoulders sunk. "Nothing. Just the pictures."

He sighed in disappointment. "Don't worry. It'll come back."

"Is everything okay here?"

Garrus turned to see a C-Sec turian drone. He was new, at least since Garrus left the force. The officer's face plates were painted with red. "Yeah, uh, she doesn't get shore leave often." He told the officer, hoping to avoid any trouble.

The officer eyed them both, then turned back to patrol the rest of the hall as he murmured, "Carry on."

"Now come down before you cause more commotion!" Garrus hissed at her.

He held out his hand to help her down. She hesitated for just a second, but then placed her hand in his. His two fingers and thumb wrapped around her small hand and she used it for balance as she hopped down.

For some reason, Garrus didn't want to let go of that little fleshy hand, but he also didn't want more eyes on them. He let her go and continued down the hall towards the shops.

Ashlyn followed him. Her neck was on a swivel looking in every direction, taking in everything. The Citadel was indeed beautiful. It was pristine and orderly. Everything seemed to shimmer and glow. It even smelled clean. She wondered why she was meant to be afraid of such a place. Aliens were seen talking to other aliens, some shared a meal, and then Ashlyn saw something that surprised her. It was a human man kissing an asari. Ashlyn stopped and continued to watch. He looked into her eyes with such love and she looked back at him with the same, if not more. She wondered if interspecies love was something of the norm around here. She realized it had to be since she was the only one staring. She wasn't staring out of disgust, but rather in awe. It was beautiful. It was if they both saw beyond their differences on the outside and enjoyed the time they had in each other's eyes.

Ashlyn jumped when she felt a grip on her arm.

"Stop gawking." Garrus demanded as he pulled her along gently.

She didn't reply, just followed him and continued to turn her head in every direction, continuing to take everything in.

She had to stop sightseeing when Garrus stopped in front of her. She looked at him questioningly and he pointed to the store front they had reached.

"Aloora Clothiers and Fitters, best place to get human and asari clothing. Get yourself a few things." He told her.

She put her hands up. "Oh, no, I can't."

"Why not?"

She bit her lip. "I, uh, don't have any money."

He placed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her towards the shop's computer. "It's on me. Get what you need."

She was glad her back was now to him since she turned a bright red. "Thanks." She murmured as she began to browse the selection of clothes.

After she had picked a few outfits and the computer scanned her measurements, the clerk procured them in a decorative bag. Garrus came through with his offer and paid. Afterwards, they moved to a few other shops to get Ashlyn other necessities like a toothbrush, hairbrush and shoes. Garrus sensed her unease when she had to purchase undergarments, so he gave her his credit chit and let her have at it.

Garrus sat on a nearby bench and leaned back. It was very peculiar having a grown human woman depending on him, but he had always been the type to help someone in need, though his usual line of help resulted in killing someone. Taking a woman on a shopping spree wasn't something he was used to, but when Ashlyn smiled at him thankfully from across the way, he knew it had been worth it.

"Where are we going now?" Ashlyn asked as they stepped into the elevator once again.

"To the embassies, to see an old friend," he replied. "He might help us figure out who you are."

She gulped nervously. "Can we trust him?"

"Yes." He answered honestly and Ashlyn didn't doubt him.

As the left the elevator, they passed the open area where lines of aliens and humans stood to talk to officials behind a counter. The sign above read, _Immigration. _They continued down the hall just past it. Garrus turned into the first door to the left. Ashlyn caught sight of the sign that read, _Commander Bailey. _

"Garrus Vakarian!" The middle aged man behind the desk greeted as they entered the room.

"Hello Commander Bailey." Garrus said with a friendly nod as he approached the desk.

"I'm sorry to hear about Palaven." Bailey stated solemnly.

"And I'm sorry about Earth."

The both shared their concerns and moved on. "What brings an old C-Sec officer here?" Bailey asked.

"I have a favor to ask of you." Garrus turned to Ashlyn. "This is a friend of mine, Ashlyn, but she's got some memory loss. Can you do a full scan on her see if her records pop up?"

Bailey shrugged. "Why not? I'm going nuts behind this desk anyway."

Garrus let out a rumbling chuckle. "I bet."

Ashlyn wasn't sure what was going on. Garrus obviously knew this man and trusted him, so she approached when Bailey gestured for her to. He seemed pleasant enough, but he was also a hardened cop. His face was stern and his light hair was a traditional military style.

"Put your hand on here." He pointed to a small screen on his desk.

Ashlyn placed her hand upon it and lights ran across the screen, reading her hand.

"Hmph," Bailey's eyes narrowed as he looked at his terminal. "No fingerprints are coming up." He looked back up at Ashlyn. "Stand still please."

Ashlyn did as she was told. A circular hovering drone appeared out of nowhere and scanned her body with a blue laser. Bailey continued to study the results on his terminal.

He scratched his jaw. "Her features aren't showing anything either." He looked up at Garrus. "You need to get her registered at immigration before someone hauls you in for bringing an illegal immigrant here."

Garrus's mandibles tensed. "Yeah, I'll get right on that." He tapped Ashlyn's arm and gestured for her to follow. "Thanks Bailey."

"No problem." Bailey replied. "Good luck out there and give Commander Shepard my regards."

Garrus seemed in a hurry to get back to the elevator. They passed the immigration area.

Ashlyn was slightly confused after hearing Bailey's instructions. "We're not going…"

"No." Garrus cut her off.

"Oh," she murmured, still confused but not willing to question him.

Once in the elevator, Garrus told her they had one more stop. They got off onto the holding bay. When they passed the security check, Ashlyn's heart dropped. There were tons of aliens here, but she heard the elevator tell them that it was refugee housing. They were all refugees. She spotted some people crying, some pacing in impatience or anger and some looked completely lost. Her heart reached out to them. Though she had only just learned of the Reapers, she was beginning to despise them as much as everyone else.

Garrus led them down to the end of the bay into a section where some turians seemed to be making their temporary home. Some were hurt, on stretchers and wincing in pain. Ashlyn felt such an overwhelming sadness for them.

"Garrus, sir." One of the turians called when he spotted them.

"What's the word?" Garrus asked.

"We have another transport coming in, maybe thirty survivors." The turian instructed.

Garrus groaned.

"We are running low on medigel too. We were supposed to receive a delivery, but there's been a hold up."

Garrus suddenly looked angry. "What do you mean a hold up?" He growled. "Give me a second." He turned back to Ashlyn. "This is going to take a little while. Go straight back to the elevator, get to docking bay 24 and get back on the Normandy. Do _not _go anywhere else."

"Okay," she whispered.

With her shopping bags in tow, she turned back towards the other end of the bay, hearing Garrus shouting about the medigel delivery hold up. She felt sorry for him and all of them. Garrus was genuinely worried about his people.

As she made it to the elevator, she scanned the floor options. She did see docking bay 24, but another floor caught her eye. Purgatory. Wasn't that a name for hell? She so badly wanted to follow Garrus's orders, but she was curious to find out why a beautiful place like the Citadel had somewhere named after hell. She figured she would just get a quick look and go straight back to the Normandy.

She got off on the level and saw the entrance to somewhere. In large flashing lights, the word _Purgatory_ was dancing over it. Music was pounding from it and a crowd of people hovered around it. Ashlyn got excited. She moved closer and a large creature on all fours eyed her.

"Come on in." He said in a hefty voice.

Well, he did invite her. She didn't want to be rude. So she went in.

The music was much louder on the inside. It was wild and intense. So many sights, sounds and smells came over her. There were tons of people. Some danced on the upper levels, some were sitting around tables with drinks and some talked amongst themselves. It was exciting. It was like a party. She moved to the upper level and approached the bar. She was a bit thirsty. She placed her bags under the bar as the salarian behind it asked what she would like.

"What's good?" She asked, not knowing what to even request.

He chuckled. "Everything, but we have a special on asari rum. It's hard, but good."

She smiled, not really understanding what 'hard' meant, but if it was good… "I'll take that."

Luckily, she still had Garrus's credit chit in her pocket. She was sure he wouldn't mind just a few credits for a drink. The salarian placed a glass in front of her filled with a purple liquid. It didn't look hard, it was liquid. She smiled gratefully and sipped the drink. It was peculiar, a mix of bitter and sweet. It sparked warmth in her belly, but it wasn't bad, so she gulped it down.

"Woah, woah," the salarian said with warning, "don't chug your booze that fast little human."

She cocked her head. "Booze?"

"Your drink." He replied with an arched brow.

She wanted to ask him why, but an asari got his attention by asking him for a few drinks for her and her friends. She turned and suddenly the room spun. The music seemed to be pounding harder and colors were starting to blur together. She laughed to herself, _What did I drink? _Then she was laughing out loud. She stepped back a bit and ran into something hard. She turned to see a tall turian behind her. She thought it might've been Garrus, but this one looked different. His face plates were dark and bore yellow markings. His eyes were a fiery red.

"Don't you look all lonely and drunk?" He said in a deep voice, his mandibles flared slightly.

"Drunk? What is this drunk you speak of?" Her words were literally falling out of her mouth.

He laughed. "Want to dance?"

For some reason, she didn't care at that moment. She wasn't afraid, after all, he was a turian like Garrus. He pulled her to the dance floor and began shaking his hips and shuffling his feet. She knew what dancing was, but had never actually tried it. She had to learn and quick, so she wasn't the only person on the dance floor not actually dancing. Her eyes grazed over some of the creatures around her, but she spotted a scantily dressed asari dancing on a floating platform. Her eyes focused intently on her movements and her mind seemed to go numb.

**Oscillating, thrusting, bending… hips, legs, buttocks, arms… graceful, attractive…**

She shook her head and tore her eyes away from the asari.

"You gonna dance or what?" The turian asked impatiently.

So she began. She moved and unbeknownst to her, she began dancing just like the asari. She swayed her hips and slowly sunk to the floor and back up, dragging her hand from her thigh up to her chest in the process. She continued the dance and didn't realize that the turian moved closer.

"Now that's what I like to see." He said gruffly.

An alarm seemed to go off in her head when he grabbed her hips and grinded against her backside. The fear started coming back. This turian was _too _close. His clawed hands started moving from her hips to her waist. Her body became rigid and she tried stepping away.

"Hey, not so fast." He purred in an uncomfortable voice. "I'm not done dancing."

She squirmed out of his grip. "But I am."

She strode to the bar in quick steps, but she felt the turian at her heels. "You can just dance like that with me and walk away!"

She turned to face him, swallowing her fear. "Well, I just did."

"You little fucking tease." His hands balled at his sides and his mandibles were clenched tight.

Her eyes widened and she suddenly felt a burning sensation in her right hand.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Hey!"

Ashlyn was swept over with relief at the sound of a familiar voice. Commander Shepard came up from the lower level, walking onto the scene like a superhero. The burning in her hand quickly faded as did her fear. He glanced at Ashlyn with a strange expression, then met eyes with the turian as he turned to Shepard.

"What the hell do you want?" The turian growled.

Shepard moved closer, his voice low with reasoning and a hint of threat. "I think you're a little drunk. You don't need to be doing something you're going to regret tomorrow."

"What's it to you, human?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, that girl there is a friend of mine and a crewmate aboard the Normandy, my ship."

The turian straightened his spine. "Wait, the Normandy is _your _ship? You're Commander Shepard?"

Shepard nodded slightly, with a gleam in his eyes daring the turian to try something.

The turian seemed to hold his breath and blurted out his words. "Shit, ah, yeah… I'll be going."

Ashlyn smiled as she watched the rude turian scamper away with his tail between his legs. She wanted to tell Shepard thank you as she turned back to him, but the look on his face was a disappointed scowl with a rock hard glare bearing down on her.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Ashlyn gulped. "I was supposed to go back to the Normandy, but I saw this place and wanted to see what it was like."

"Aren't you afraid of being alone in the Citadel?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well everyone's been so nice, well… nearly everyone, and until now I've not had a reason to be afraid." She looked down and felt shame press down on her shoulders like weights.

"So you decided to come to a bar, get drunk and dance like a stripper with a strange turian?" He sounded very angry.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was wounded. "I guess I just got caught up in it all. Garrus was with me at first, so it wasn't all bad."

"Garrus brought you here?" He suddenly seemed even angrier.

Ashlyn threw her hands up defensively. "He brought me here to get some clothes, since I only have what's on my back. I didn't have any money or anything."

Shepard's anger faded just slightly and his stare softened. "You could've asked me for that."

"I, uh, didn't want to burden you."

Shepard laughed. "You didn't want to burden me so you come and get yourself nearly killed." He ran his hand over his face. "I care about my crew. If you needed something, I would've made sure you had it." He sighed as he gestured with a nod of his head for her to follow him. "Let's head back. You know, you're lucky I like you."

* * *

Ashlyn wasn't sure if it was still the 'booze' wearing off or if it was just the fact that Shepard called her his crew _and _admitted to liking her, but she was happy. That was until she saw Garrus standing at the doorway to the Normandy's dock. His arms were crossed, his brow plates were furrowed and his mandibles fluttered in irritation.

"Where the hell did you go?!" He asked as sharp as a blade as she approached the door.

"I, um, got lost."

His eyes flared like a blue fire. "Lost?! Is that why you stink of alcohol?"

She didn't have time to reply. Luckily Shepard came up from behind, stopping Garrus's scolding in its tracks. "Garrus, I heard you left Ashlyn alone."

His tone changed. "Shepard, I told her to come straight back to the Normandy. There was a problem in the Palaven refugee camp. I had to take care of it."

Ashlyn gathered her bravery and spoke up. "It is my fault. Garrus did tell me to come back here, but I didn't listen. I was curious and stupid. It won't happen again, sirs."

"See that it doesn't." Shepard stated. He directed the command at her, but he was still staring at Garrus with a look Ashlyn couldn't comprehend. Perhaps it was disappointment or implement of authority? Ashlyn could've sworn it looked more like a primal, possessive glare, as if Shepard was jealous, but that couldn't be right.

The three of them boarded the Normandy in silence and separated once they stepped in.

* * *

Ashlyn sometimes wondered if there was a heaven, or a lost utopia waiting to be found, but she was pretty sure she found it in the Normandy's showers. The hot water and steam enveloped her and if she wasn't standing, she probably would've just fallen asleep. Her muscles all became loose and relaxed and her mind just went blank as she let the water wash her worries away.

Eventually, she had to step out of the wonderful blanket of water and steam. Her skin was pruned and her fingertips looked like fleshy little raisins. She couldn't even imagine how long she'd been in there for. Luckily, no one seemed to mind. When she climbed out of the shower, she made her way to the sink where she kept her new hygiene amenities. She brushed her teeth vigorously, then looked up into the fog coated mirror at herself. As she dragged her brush through her thick hair, she stared at herself. It pained her to realize that she didn't even remember what she really looked like. Her dark brown, almost black hair made her green eyes stand out like cat eyes in the night. Her skin was pale and she was thin, but it was her.

She'd picked up a hair band that she purchased with the brush and gathered her hair in a ponytail that dangled between her shoulder blades. Her breath hitched as she brushed the puffed skin on her back, reminding her that she bore a scar. She didn't want to dwell on it, so she put on her brand new undergarments and clothes. She wore a navy blue V-neck shirt that hugged her body and black cargo pants that added a comfortable feel to her new look. She took a moment to admire her new style in the mirror before gathering her things and heading back to her quarters.

When the doors opened, she was surprised to see Shepard standing there. He was in her room, looking out the window, but turned when he heard her enter. He faced her as she put her things away in a storage compartment that was positioned at the end of her bed.

"Can I help you, Shepard?" She asked politely, afraid he was still angry with her.

"I was thinking about the incident on the Citadel." He stated.

Ashlyn felt dread come over her. She feared he would kick her off the ship, but she did disobey him and was prepared for punishment.

He continued. "I want you to learn to defend yourself." Ashlyn was surprised at his statement, but stayed silent. "Most crewmates are required to have gun and hand to hand training, so I will require the same of you. I can oversee your hand to hand training, but I don't think my schedule will allow gun training as well, so I would ask our best gunman on the ship to oversee it."

"And that is?" She inquired.

Shepard cleared his throat softly. "Garrus." The way he spoke the turian's name seemed like he'd regretted it the moment it came from his mouth.

Ashlyn nearly smiled, but then remembered that Garrus was probably still angry with her, which might not make the best of the gun training.

Shepard continued. "I also ask that EDI continue toning your computer skills, but on dummy systems, so you've got a busy schedule ahead of you."

She smiled at him. "I can't thank you enough, Shepard."

He shrugged. "I just want the best out of my team that's all."

She suddenly stepped closer and placed her hand on his bicep. "It's more than that. I… I feel like you've given me a home when I had nowhere else to go. I was so afraid when I first woke in that tomb, but after meeting you and seeing your kindness, well, I'm not so afraid anymore." She paused as she glanced at the floor for a fleeting moment, then back at him. "And sir, if I may?"

She moved even closer and outstretched her arms. Before Shepard could even think, her body was pressed against his and her arms wrapped around his neck. His breath hitched and his heart stopped. He could ever so slightly feel the soft skin of her cheek against his. He also felt her breath against his neck and her hair brushing over his face. He had the sudden urge to wrap himself tight around her, but instead, he kept it as professional as possible. He returned the hug, giving her a soft pat on the back.

"You're welcome," he murmured as he regretfully separated the embrace.

He left Ashlyn's quarters feeling as if a rope was tied to him pulling him back. He didn't though. He was the commander. He had to keep his feelings on a short leash. Plus, during a war, there wasn't much time for courting, no matter how much he wanted to run back and relive that embrace.

* * *

The next day, Ashlyn was ordered to meet EDI in the AI Core once more. She wasn't entirely prepared for it since Shepard decided to ping her omni-tool at seven in the morning advising her to meet EDI in half an hour. So thirty minutes later, she found herself half asleep in the AI Core.

"Why does Shepard have to get up so _early_?" Ashlyn groaned as EDI's robotic fingers moved like a blur over the terminal.

"He's military," she stated, "getting up so early is normal. He was probably up well before he messaged you too."

Ashlyn let out a yawn and said, "So, what is my job today?"

"Well," EDI began, "since Shepard doesn't want you working on actual systems just yet, I've set up a set of dummy systems and databases. They're not connected to anything, so you can do whatever you like with this terminal."

"Alright."

"Today, I'd like to create a scenario and I want you to access this terminal to find what you need."

Ashlyn nodded. "Sounds good."

"Shall I make the scenario more interesting by adding a story?"

Ashlyn chuckled, "Sure."

EDI smiled and continued. "Let's say you are a famous mercenary."

"Oh, can my name be… uh… Lightning Fingers?"

EDI raised a brow. "Lightning… Fingers? Is that a joke?"

Ashlyn looked shocked. "No! I really like it! It means I'm a quick draw type of mercenary!"

EDI shrugged. "Well, at least it wouldn't be taken already. Anyway, you're the famous mercenary… Lightning Fingers… and you're on a mission to clear your old partner's name."

"Can I name my partner?"

"Sure, what will it be, Thunder Feet?"

Ashlyn sneered playfully. "No, but that is a good one. I was thinking… Blue Angel. Oh, and she can be an asari… or a turian with blue markings… he or she just has to have blue or the name doesn't work."

"Have an affinity for turians with blue markings?" EDI asked with a sly smirk.

Ashlyn looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing… alright, you are on a mission to clear Blue Angel's name who was imprisoned for a crime that you know he or she, since you didn't specify, didn't commit. It's up to you to find the real criminal so you can set Blue Angel free."

"And I can find all that on this terminal?" Ashlyn asked, feeling a bit inadequate.

"If you're good. The only information you have is that the crime was a murder that was committed on Omega near a dextro-friendly restaurant in the Tuhi District."

EDI also gave Ashlyn the date and time of the murder and let her access the terminal. She wasn't sure where to begin. She linked her omni-tool to the terminal and her mind seemed to shudder. She closed her eyes and thought about Omega. Though she'd never seen it before, she saw it in her mind. It was a dirty, crime-ridden place, but she located the three dextro-friendly restaurants in the Tuhi District. She thought about the exact time and date, realizing the restaurants probably had surveillance cameras, she found her way to the footage. Each video was uneventful, except one. One video, showing the back alley of one of the establishments, showed a human killing an asari in cold blood. Ashlyn caught a glimpse of each of their faces, then let her mind branch out, searching for those faces. The asari was the daughter of a notable leader of the Eclipse mercenary pack, the human was an aspiring member of Eclipse. Ashlyn stopped her search and opened her eyes.

"Why would a member of a mercenary group kill one of their own kind? And why would they frame Blue Angel?"

EDI smiled as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, there's no need to play detective, you found the incriminating evidence. You just freed your partner, Lightning Fingers."

Ashlyn didn't seem pleased, her brow was still furrowed. "I saw that the asari was the daughter of one of the leaders, perhaps she was being groomed to take over, so the human had to wipe her out to claim his own position in the group and getting a rival mercenary to take the fall would seem like a good alibi."

"That's pretty good." EDI admitted, with a bit of surprise in her voice. "That's exactly what happened."

Ashlyn cocked her head. "This was a real story?"

"Well, I wouldn't have been able to make up all that surveillance footage. This case was solved by Shepard about a year ago, except he wasn't the innocent party's partner and he didn't solve it as quick."

"How long did it take him to figure it out?"

EDI let out a wispy laugh. "Nearly a day."

* * *

Ashlyn was a little nervous when she entered the training room. She wasn't sure if it was because of she was around a plethora of guns or because she had to face Garrus again for the first time since he yelled at her. What made it worse was when she realized what EDI's 'affinity for turians with blue markings' comment finally hit her, a mere ten minutes before she was ordered to meet him. She was surprised she didn't spontaneously combust when she flushed hot with embarrassment right outside the room.

When she stepped inside, he was there. His back was turned to her and he was fiddling with a weapon on the table. Beyond the table was a half wall and beyond that was a large holographic screen. The room was fairly long, but not at all wide. There was probably enough space for about three gunmen to practice at a time.

Ashlyn approached Garrus and stopped beside him. He didn't look up from his gun. A pregnant silence came between them. Ashlyn wasn't even sure if he was still angry or not and she didn't want to take the chance to further his anger.

"Look," he began suddenly, still keeping his eyes on the table, "I'm sorry for leaving you on the Citadel. I, uh, found out what happened and I just feel horrible. I shouldn't have left you."

Her eyes traveled to him. His mandibles were tight against his face and his eyes were focused intently on his gun. "_I_ should apologize." She told him as she sighed deeply. "It was my fault for wandering off and I'm the one that angered Shepard. I'm sorry you got in trouble."

He finally met her emerald gaze with a bit of a grin. "Trouble? That's my middle name." Ashlyn giggled at him and continued her apology, feeling a lot happier. "I guess I just felt a little braver than usual. I used to be so scared of the place, but after meeting you and Shepard and everyone else on the Normandy, I thought maybe everyone was that kind and I didn't have a reason to be afraid. I guess I was wrong."

"Hey, the galaxy can be a pretty horrible place sometimes, but there is still good in it and that's what I, what we, fight for. So you can feel safe, just don't go trusting everyone out there."

Ashlyn nodded and smiled gratefully.

Garrus smiled back and froze when he realized that during his speech, he'd placed his hand on hers. She must've had it on the weapons table and he was trying to comfort her, so his hand found its way there. She didn't seem to mind it, but he didn't want to make it any more awkward, so he slowly moved his hand away.

Ashlyn finally breathed again when Garrus's hand slid off hers and back onto the weapon on the table. She almost didn't realize that she was holding her breath the second she felt the warmth of his gloved hand on hers. She tried to stay calm, though her heart was pounding in her chest and told herself that he was just comforting her. A simple friendly gesture. That's all.

"Alright, this here is an M-5 Phalanx." Garrus interrupted her thoughts by lifted the gun he was working on and showed it to her. "It's a heavy pistol, lightweight, compact and can still pack a punch. I've put a modification on it so that it shoots blanks. We don't want to shoot out the Normandy's walls. When you're ready, the holograph before you will show you targets. You try and shoot the targets, I'll tell you how good you did and help you where you need it the most. You want to give it a try?"

"You show me first."

His mandibles flared in a turian grin. "Alright, prepare to be amazed."

Garrus took a few steps and stood before the half wall. He took his stance and aimed. As the targets came to life, Garrus began to fire and Ashlyn began to focus on him, her mind going numb as she watched him.

**Spine straight, arms locked, breath calm… steady, poised, focused… precise, unafraid… deadly…**

Ashlyn shook her head as Garrus pulled back the pistol. "All headshots." He said smugly. He handed her the gun. "Now, just aim and pull the trigger. This pistol doesn't have a lot of kick back, so just hold it firmly and don't hurt yourself."

She took the pistol in her hands. She took her stance and aimed. The targets appeared. Her reflexes kicked in faster than she could think. She held her breath as her finger squeezed the trigger once, twice, three, then four times. Each shot fired was like a bolt of electricity shooting through her. It was exciting and familiar. She finally breathed again when she lowered the pistol. She turned to Garrus.

His mandibles were slack and his mouth gaped. "Spirits..." He murmured as he looked at her, then back at targets. Each one was a headshot, almost exactly on top of his own bullet holes.

"Guess I'm pretty good." She said with a cocky grin.

"Alright, do it again."

Ashlyn ended up doing it four more times. Each time was a bullet in the holographic head of the targets. Garrus was beside himself with shock.

"Okay… _how_ do you know how to shoot like that?" He asked in exasperation.

Ashlyn shrugged. "I don't know. I just watched how you did it and I did it."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Shepard's going to want to hear about this, but just in case do it one more time."

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Garrus stared intently at his terminal in the main battery, but he wasn't doing work. In fact, he wasn't even focused. He'd been on the same calibration setting for about an hour. His mind was annoyingly stuck on a particular female human. He'd just finished delivering his report to Shepard, who couldn't believe it himself. Ashlyn was an excellent shot. Shepard suggested that she was just a natural, but Garrus knew it was more than that. He could _almost_ admit that she might've been as good as he was, but that determination would take more to confirm. Maybe she did just have a natural talent for the pistol? It didn't mean she was good with sniper rifles, or assault weapons. Then he realized he was actually looking forward to their next training session, but it wasn't just because of her impressive skill. He felt something when he was watching her shoot. There was something about Ashlyn holding that gun and owning those targets, it just seemed so… attractive.

Garrus felt like an idiot. Was he really allowing feelings to seed for a human? She was no different than any other human female he's met, but then again, she was. The way her brilliant green eyes lit up when she smiled, the way her pink human lips seemed to pout when she became upset and how her expression was all business when she fired that gun.

He groaned as he ran a hand over his face plates. He didn't know what to think. Would he frighten her away by telling her? He had a fleeting image of Ashlyn running away in a mix of disgust and horror after he confessed his strange attraction to her, but then he had another thought. What would happen if she accepted him? He'd heard of human and turian pairings before, they weren't really smiled upon, but how did they work? He thought about the moment when he held her hand on the Citadel, and when he touched it again in the training room. Oh did he want to see if the rest of her was that soft and actually touch her with his own hand and not through his gloves.

Suddenly, with the thought of possibly getting the chance to touch her, actually touch her, Garrus made a clarifying decision. He was going to research human relationships and confess his feelings for her. It was far better than hiding it, and even if she rejected him, at least he could say he tried. Besides, it wasn't very turian of him to hide it, though he didn't think of himself as a very good turian anyway. Now he just had to figure where to look for this particular type of research.

* * *

It was getting late when Garrus had found himself at the door to the cockpit. He stood there for at least two minutes mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. Finally, he gathered his resolve and entered.

"Joker," Garrus called quietly as he approached the pilot's chair.

"Oh, hey Garrus, what's up?"

Garrus turned to EDI who was looking at him curiously. He let out a cough. "EDI could I talk to Joker in private?"

EDI's metallic eyes narrowed. "You do realize I can monitor the entire ship?"

He growled in frustration. "Yes, but I'd feel a lot better without a physical body standing here, so could you please?"

"Of course." She stated and stepped out of the cockpit.

By now, Joker had his chair turned around and he looked at Garrus. "That was weird. What's up with you?"

Garrus wrung his hands. He didn't even know how to ask. "Um, I need some information, vids preferably."

"What kind of vids?" Joker asked with one eyebrow arched.

"I need to know how to court a human female and if it's possible for me to, ah… join… with one."

Joker's eyes narrowed. Garrus swore if he was human he'd be turning every shade of purple. Joker still stayed silent, which made it worse. Garrus's mandibles were clenched nervously to his face and he was just about to give up on this awkward silence when Joker suddenly erupted with laughter. He laughed for a good thirty seconds while Garrus rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed as hell.

"Alright, I get it," Garrus finally cut through his laughter. "Forget I asked."

"No, no, man," Joker's laughter dimmed, "I'm just glad you're finally getting that stick out your ass and cutting loose. Who's the lucky gal?"

His mandibles flinched. "I'd rather not say."

"Fine, fine," Joker replied with his hands up in defense. "Let me see what I can find for you."

* * *

Ashlyn woke the next day with a skip in her step. She was so proud of herself. She'd done well in EDI's computer exercise, plus impressed Garrus with her shooting. Though, he was looking at her very strangely when she left. She wasn't sure why, but after both sessions, she was so exhausted. It was like her brain was overworked and as soon as she lay in her bed, she was out like a light.

She woke the next day to Shepard pinging her omni-tool. He wanted to meet her for their first hand to hand training in the shuttle bay. She dressed herself in a red tank top and black pants. Her outfit clung to her body, which would be better for her to move in. She put her hair up and headed down to the shuttle bay.

She was greeted by two smiling faces as she entered the large room. Shepard was there and so was James Vega, standing side by side in the center.

"_Hola_, little pod girl," Vega said with a mischievous grin as his eyes traveled up and down her body, "don't you look ready for a rumble."

"Ignore Vega," Shepard told her, "he's a helpless flirt and he makes up nicknames for everyone."

Ashlyn laughed. "So I'm pod girl?"

"I think I'll start calling you _bonita_ pod girl." Vega teased with a wink, giving Ashlyn the idea that Shepard was more than right about him.

"Alright, cool it, Vega." Shepard commanded as Vega put up his hands in defense.

Ashlyn laughed again. She noticed that there was a mat laid out on the floor and that both Shepard and Vega were in form fitting clothing like she was, though she believed Vega to _always _be in clothes that showed off his muscles.

"Vega and I are going to show you some beginner moves, then I want you to try some of those moves on me. Does that sound good?" Shepard asked.

Ashlyn nodded.

"Alright, watch closely now."

Both Shepard and Vega stepped on the mat and assumed fighting stances. Shepard began to explain his stance, but his voice began to drown into silence. His lips were moving, but Ashlyn couldn't hear him. She focused on him, his stance, and her mind went numb…

**Poised, alert, balanced… striking strong, fast… body loose, nimble… looking for weaknesses, opportunities… striking again, hard, aimed…**

"Did you get that Ashlyn?"

Shepard's voice brought her out of her trance. "Yeah, I think so." She said softly.

"Good, looked like you weren't paying attention there for a second. Are you ready to try what you saw on me?" He asked.

"Sure," she said nervously. This kind of training was a little more different than the others. She was actually going to fight Shepard.

Ashlyn stepped onto the mat as Vega stepped off, passing her and whispering, "Go easy on him, my little _bonita _pod girl."

She smiled and took her stance.

"Good starting position." Shepard complimented. "Now try and hit me like I showed you."

"You want me to hit you?"

"I'm sure I can take it." He said with a confident chuckle.

Ashlyn loosened her body and let her instincts take over. She swung once with her right fist, Shepard just barely leaned out of its path. She swung a left hook and again Shepard barely dodged. She did a low left jab, which Shepard dodged and she quickly followed up by a right hook, her fist striking Shepard right across the nose.

Shepard fell to his knees clutching his nose as Ashlyn heard Vega from behind murmur, "Holy shit."

Time seemed to stop. Ashlyn felt her world spinning as she saw the drop of blood seep out from between Shepard's fingers. This was it. He was definitely going to kick her off the ship now. She had to make this right.

"I am so, so, so sorry!" She blurted out as she knelt in front of him. She took his hand away from his face and saw the stream of crimson falling from his left nostril. "Oh, damnit! I'm so sorry!" He was silent, simply staring into her eyes. She wasn't worried about that though, she had to stop the bleeding, but she had nothing. The only thing she had… she was wearing. Before she could even think, her shirt was up and over her head and placed on Shepard's nose.

"Ashlyn," he finally spoke, "I'm fine, you don't have to do this."

"It's too late, the shirt already has blood on it. Besides, it's red anyway." Shepard noticed a wetness forming in the corners of her eyes. "Please don't kick me off the ship."

He smiled from beneath the shirt that was balled up under his nose. "Oh, Ashlyn, you never have to worry about beating me in a fight." He placed his hand on her cheek. "I'm just surprised, I didn't know you had it in you."

Ashlyn sighed with relief. "Thank goodness, I really didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know. How about we cut this lesson short? You can go get a new shirt and I'll get cleaned up."

"Okay."

They both stood and met eyes with Vega, who bore an even more mischievous smile.

"Vega," Shepard nearly forgot he was still there and was suddenly embarrassed by his display of a tender moment with Ashlyn. "Why are you so quiet?"

"No reason, sir," he said with a hint of humor in his voice, "no reason."

Vega turned and headed back to his workout area, leaving Shepard and Ashlyn.

Shepard's mind was spinning as he took a step and began to follow Ashlyn out of the shuttle bay. He was nearly hypnotized by her dark ponytail swaying from side to side as she walked, when he noticed something. Something on her skin, between her shoulder blades and down her spine. It was a scar and it was a large one. It was shaped like a cross and it was too precise to be a battle scar.

As they entered the elevator together, Shepard turned to her. "I guess you don't remember how you got that scar?" He asked gently.

Ashlyn let out a sigh that resembled a whimpering puppy. "No."

Shepard wasn't sure of what else to say, so he said the only thing that came to his mind. "I'm sorry."

Ashlyn stayed silent. She didn't want anyone to see the horrible cross that marred her body. It was a painful reminder that someone at some point did something to her and she couldn't remember what. For all she knew it could've been a surgery to save her life, or maybe it was the reason of her memory loss? She wanted to tell Shepard it was okay, that she didn't need his apologies, but as she turned to him, she realized he was no longer looking at her scar. Ashlyn flushed with red as Shepard snapped his eyes away from her partially nude body.

Thankfully, the elevator dinged.

"This is my floor." Ashlyn said with a nervous chuckle. "Sorry again Shepard and thanks for the lesson."

She didn't dare to look at him as she scurried out of the elevator as her hands attempted to cover _something_ until she made it to her quarters.

As the elevator doors shut, Shepard had the urge to bang his head against the wall. He could not _believe_ Ashlyn caught him eyeing her up. He admitted to himself that he is male and having an attractive young woman partially clothed standing next to him was a baited trap waiting to snag him. She was so beautiful though. He would've given anything to just reach out and touch her porcelain skin, her exquisite breasts and her pink, pouty lips.

As the elevator doors opened to his quarters, he trudged out. He had been trying his best to bury his feelings, but they seemed to grow with every moment. He took a deep sigh and groaned as he realized the shirt he held to his nose smelled of her. He had planned to return it, but since it was probably ruined and he began to toy with the idea of keeping it, he decided to just buy her a new one.

* * *

Shepard's feelings for Ashlyn were confusing enough for him, but what also made it worse was the skill she expressed in every task he'd given her. EDI told him that she excelled in the computer exercise and Garrus's report stated that she probably doesn't even need much weapon training. Now she was even an expert in hand to hand combat. Though Shepard admitted to himself that he was going easy on her, she still knocked him to the ground and nearly broke his nose. Something didn't seem right. For such a naïve, innocent girl, she had a lot of talent for battle.

So Shepard decided to console with one of his best engineers and the master of digging up information. He asked Tali and Liara to meet him in Liara's office.

"What's up Shepard?" Tali asked as she entered the room.

Liara's office was buzzing with the sounds of computers as Glyph, her drone, hovered in the corner.

"I have a question that either of you might be able to answer." The two female aliens listened intently as Shepard continued. "Is it possible for someone to have some sort of cybernetic implant that allows them to learn at a quicker pace?"

"It's rare," Tali said beneath her mask, "but it could be possible. The technology exists, but brain alteration is frowned upon."

"How quick of a pace do you mean?" Liara asked as she brought her long blue finger to her chin in contemplation.

"I mean a matter of seconds. They watch someone perform a skill and are able to do exactly what they saw directly after, whether or not they have the same skill."

"That might not be so possible." Tali pointed out. "That's more mimicry than learning. Some computers are able to scan movements and actions and transfer them to data, but implementing that in the brain to the level you are describing is highly unlikely. We have the ability to mimic, but not to exact detail, especially when it comes to a skill that we've never tried before."

"Why do you ask Shepard?" Liara questioned.

"No reason," he lied, "just curious if it was possible."

"I doubt it is. At least I've never heard anything like it." Tali told him.

"Well, thanks for your input." Shepard patted Tali on the shoulder gratefully.

"No problem, I like answering curious technology questions."

Shepard laughed. "I know you do."

As Tali left Liara's office, Shepard turned to the asari whose eyes were narrowed onto him. "It's her, isn't it?"

Shepard shook his head, trying to dismiss her suspicion. "Now Liara, I know you have your doubts, but she's proved to be a valuable asset."

"If she truly has this copycat ability like you say, it could mean danger for us. The question would be who gave her this ability? I've been exhausting all my information resources since you brought her on board, but I've not been able to find anything. Nothing like her exists, so my suggestion would be to watch her carefully because if she has an ability like this, she could have much more and much worse lying underneath."

"Don't worry Liara, I've been keeping an eye on her. I've advised EDI and Garrus to report any strange behavior during her training. I know she's a bag of mystery, but we can't condemn her for being something unknown to us. We all have our strange stragglers we've picked up and they've become partners and friends."

"True," Liara murmured in defeat, "but I just want you to be careful. Don't get too close to her."

_Too late. _Shepard thought as he gave his friend his thanks and left the room.

* * *

**Author's note: Now that Halloween's over and I'm not spending most of my time making costumes, hopefully I can have more time to write. I though I'd update this little chapter for your enjoyment. I'd also like to take a moment to thank everyone that has been favoriting/following/reviewing my story. I know it's not as detailed as I'd like it to be, but hey, it's for fun and I hope you all like it! :)**


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